In order to determine what dimensions of the bath are needed, you need to remember several important points: the design and construction technology, the number of rooms in the bath and the potential number of people who want to visit this bath.
Most often when building a bath are used:
Despite the significant difference in the construction technology of these materials, they have practically no effect on the size of the bath. Much more important is the number of rooms and visitors to the bath.
Russian bath, if you follow the canons, should consist of three rooms:
If the bath is located in a separate room, a fourth is almost always added - a dressing room designed to cut off wind and frost from the bath rooms, as well as for drying and storing brooms and storing firewood. The locker room, as a rule, also serves as a rest room. In addition, sometimes a washing room and a steam room are combined, although connoisseurs do not recognize this, reasonably believing that soap is deadly for steam.
The next important issue that needs to be addressed in order to determine the optimal size of the bath is the number of visitors. Three options are usually considered:
Usually such a bath is located in an annex and does not require a dressing room. The area is determined by the minimum, but taking into account that amenities are maintained. Otherwise, visiting the bath will lead to discomfort instead of pleasure.
The minimum width of the locker room must be at least 1 meter, and the total area must be at least 1.3 sq.m. It is quite enough to make a shower room even smaller - 1 sq.m. The steam room should, in addition to a place for a person (1 sq.m., if you steam only sitting, and 1.5 sq.m. - standing), also provide a place for the stove.
Thus, the total area of the bath for one person should be approximately 4.5-6 sq.m.
For a small family, a bathhouse needs either a larger extension or a standard log house 5 * 5 m. The following proportions of the bathhouse premises are considered standard: 2 * 1.5 * 1, respectively, a dressing room, a washing room and a steam room.
The following requirements must also be taken into account:
The proportions of the areas of the premises are slightly changing in the direction of increasing the locker room (in this case, turning into a rest room) and the steam room. However, it should be borne in mind that making the steam room too large should also not be done - since then it will be difficult to melt it properly, and even more difficult to maintain the required temperature.
The optimal size of the dressing room ranges from 1.2 * 2.5 to 1.8 * 3.5 m. Since the room is not intended for a long stay in it, large sizes are not required. They are quite sufficient for a small family, and for a fairly large company. It makes sense to increase the dressing room only if there is a clear surplus of space, or to use it as a warehouse.
The largest room in almost any bath. Even for a bath with the smallest size, this room occupies about half of the entire area. In extreme cases, if the bath is quite small, the locker room is combined with a dressing room. In this case, the area of the rest room can reach 2/3 of the total area of \u200b\u200bthe bath.
As in the case of other rooms, the specific dimensions of the washing room depend, first of all, on the size of the bath. Usually it occupies about a third of the total area. The minimum dimensions are for 3-4 people 2 * 2.1 m, in the presence of a shower compartment 2.5 * 3 m. If a pool is planned, the share of the washing compartment increases accordingly by its area with approaches to it.
Of great importance in determining the optimal size of the steam room is the type of stove used. The most massive brick ovens do not need additional insulation from the walls, while metal ones should be installed no closer than one meter from the walls. The minimum dimensions of the steam room for 3-4 people are 1.5 * 2 m. This is quite enough to bathe both standing and lying down. The optimal dimensions of a steam room for 5-6 people or more should be somewhat larger and amount to 2.5 * 2.5 m with a height of 2.1 m.
It makes no sense to dwell on small 10-12 meter extensions to the house and their layout - the main thing for her is to place everything, and the minimum required dimensions are indicated. Much more interesting are the possible layouts of premises with an area of 25 sq.m. (standard frame 5*5) and above. Below are some of them.
The layout allows you to place all 4 types of premises: a hall (dressing room), a rest room, a shower room and a steam room, the area ratio of which is 0.5 * 2.35 * 1.25 * 1, respectively, which is close enough to the recommended ones. In addition, the available area is sufficient for the construction of a small veranda.
Features of the layout: the terrace plays the role of a dressing room; there is a toilet in the rest room, due to which the proportion of urine is slightly lower than usual; for convenience, a small warehouse for firewood has been allocated. The ratio of the areas of the premises is practically 2.3 * 1 * 1, respectively, a rest room, a washing room and a steam room.
An even more spacious layout, in which almost all areas increase. The steam room reaches a size of 7.3 sq.m., which is close to the maximum without loss of efficiency. The ratio of the areas of the main premises is 2.5 * 1.1 * 1. Such dimensions will allow a rather big company of steam lovers to spend time with pleasure.
The presence of an attic turns a small bath into a fairly comfortable place of leisure, since it is the area of the rest room that increases several times. The presence of a terrace also makes the project even more interesting. The ratio of areas on the 1st floor is as follows: dressing room (combined with dressing room) / washing / steam room, respectively: 1 * 1.6 * 6.
Russian bath is not only a place where you can wash yourself. For many, this is the best rest after working days, here you can relax and chat. Everyone knows about the benefits of bath procedures since childhood, scientific studies have long proven their positive effect on the body as a whole, as well as the benefits for the prevention of various diseases. Now many build baths on their own, and not only in the villages. But many who are starting to build a bath for the first time, especially young people, do not know where to start.
Consider the basic rules of construction and the standard size of the bath, starting with the selection of the site.
It is believed that the best place to build a bath will be the bank of a river, lake or pond. But to prevent trouble during the spring flood, you should not place the bathhouse closer than 15 meters from the water shore, and it must be positioned so that dirty water does not flow into the reservoir.
Choose a site that is on a slight rise. Thanks to this, you do not have to do drainage, the water will drain itself. For example, you can place it on a hill or a steep slope, in the form of a dugout with a terrace or veranda, which will become a resting place, a natural solarium and a playground for children. And do not forget about modesty, it is better that the bath is fenced off from prying eyes by large trees or a decorative fence.
If you are a lover of a black sauna, you should keep in mind that the distance from it to other buildings should be at least 12 meters. And if you decide to rebuild a bath in a residential area, preference should be given to a sauna, in which, under the influence of high temperature, the wood will dry out and will not rot.
So, the site was chosen, now we need to figure out how to put the bath. Where to install the door, what sizes of doors to make in the bath, where will the windows go? If there is a terrace, it is better to enter from the south side, it is warmer. And in winter, with this arrangement, there will be fewer snowdrifts and they will melt faster in the spring. And the windows are positioned so that the setting sun gets in, because the bathhouse is often heated in the late afternoon. You also need to take into account the slope of slanting rains - if you can’t make an entrance from the opposite side, then it’s more expedient to rebuild a vestibule to protect the door from getting wet.
A standard bath is divided into a steam room, a washing room and a dressing room, their ratio should be 1:1.5:2.
The smallest is a warm "cupboard" where no more than two people can fit in a sitting position. Such saunas are heated by an electric stove and it is possible to build them even in the bathroom of a standard city apartment. The minimum parameters of a standard bath for one family are 1.8: 2 meters, at least one bench should fit there, where a person can sit in a lying position. In a bath with parameters 2.5: 2.4, to save space, benches are made in the shape of the letter G, and in even larger ones, a parallel or U-shaped bench.
The height should also be minimal, because the larger the parameters of the room, the more fuel is needed to heat it. If we take into account that the upper tier of the stone stove is located at a height of about 1 meter from the floor, and the upper shelf is made on a par with it, then for the convenience of a person steaming while sitting, the ceiling height should be at least 2.1 meters.
And if you like to go to the bathhouse with a large company, the steam room and washing room should be separated, and the size of the bathhouse should be at least 12 square meters. meters.
The steam room is the main room, not a single Russian bath can do without it. The size of the steam room can be any, it depends on which stove you choose and how many people will wash at the same time, and on how you like to steam more, lying or sitting. Usually 1.5 square meters is taken per person. meters.
The basis of the steam room is a shelf or a bench, its size depends on your preferences and the area of \u200b\u200bthe bath. If you like to bathe sitting more, then the width should vary between 40-45 cm, lying down - at least 95 cm.
To heat the steam room, stone stoves or electric heaters are used. The main advantage of heaters is that they warm up the steam room faster and stronger and subsequently the temperature can be adjusted. But they are difficult to maintain the desired temperature and humidity.
Washing - directly the room where we wash. There are reservoirs with cold and hot water, benches for sitting, perhaps a shower or a small font. The size of the washing room is calculated based on the parameters - at least 1 sq. meters per person.
The direct purpose of this room is the locker room in front of the entrance to the washing or steam room. But nowadays, when the bath is used not only for washing, it has turned into a rest room. Ideally, this should be a separate room. Here, visitors to the bath will be able to undress, relax after the steam room, dry after washing, and generally put themselves in order. For convenience, in the dressing room you can place benches, chairs, hang a mirror, place hangers for clothes and towels, or even put a small pool to alternate between hot and cold treatments. Massage lovers can install a special lounger. Also in the dressing room you need to allocate a corner for buckets of water, coal or firewood and for other necessary utensils.
The arrangement of the dressing room depends on its size and your preferences. If the size of the dressing room can be replaced with a large entrance hall with a hanger, and in large baths they make a separate dressing room and a relaxation room, and if you use the bathhouse only in the warm season, it can generally be replaced with a terrace.
The dimensions should be small, and the doors themselves should be single-leaf, this will keep the heat longer. Their width should not exceed 0.7 m, and height 1.7 m.
If you decide on your own, you need to think carefully: choose a suitable place, decide what the size of the bath will be, how many rooms it will consist of, decide on the material from which you will build it. Especially if you are going to do everything from blueprints on your own.
For example, if you build from a log, you need to remember that they are usually made about 4.5 meters long, and a beam - 5.5 meters. You can also use building blocks to build a bath. When using them, there are no restrictions, it all depends on the plan of your future bath.
Approach the construction of the bath with all responsibility and then everything will definitely work out for you.
Baths 4 by 4 meters are very popular now - this is an excellent, low-budget option.
The layout can be in two versions of the structure: one-story and attic type.
The classic layout of the premises: in a one-story bath, a rest room and a dressing room are combined. Dimensions 2 by 4 meters. If the bath is an attic type of building, only a dressing room can be located in such a room, because the main part is occupied by a washing department and a steam room, the size of which is 2 by 2 meters. In a 4 by 4 meter bath, it is recommended to install a small metal stove, since a large stove-heater takes up a lot of space and it will not be possible to separate the steam room and the washing room. The front part of the stove with a firebox is displayed in the rest room, and the stove itself is installed in the steam room. If there is a desire, you can attach a terrace and convert the attic space into a summer lounge.
The construction of a bath begins with a project, determining the size and configuration of the room. What should be the branch of the steam room? Do you need a rest room and dressing room? What is the minimum ceiling height? In the article we will tell you what to consider when planning and make an approximate calculation of the size of the bath for 2-4 people.2. How do you like to bathe?
There are several options for location in the steam room, here are the most common:
4. How long do you wash?
5. Do you like to sit longer in the bath? A small room warms up faster and cools down more slowly, if you are not going to receive guests, then the smaller the steam room, the better (but not less than 2.5x2.5x2.5 m)
6. Do you need additional premises?
The bathhouse consists of a steam room, a washing room, and a rest room. Do not sacrifice a rest room in favor of the steam room and vice versa, you need all three types of premises - trust our experience, you will regret that you did not.
7. What attributes will be in the premises?
Before you call a contractor or start building a bathhouse with your own hands, draw a project. By hand, in specialized programs (SketchUp is good) - anyway, the main thing is to arrange “on the shelves” everything you want to see in the bath: shelves, stove, headrests, shower, buckets, water taps, table, clothes hanger, etc. . Someone needs to fit a table for 7 people in the relaxation room, and for someone a small bench is enough to lie down. The size depends on what you want to see in the bath room.
The optimal size of a small family bath.
Let's say you have a small family bath for 2 or 4 family members. You need a steam room that can accommodate up to 4 people at the same time, a small relaxation room with a table and a washroom for the same number of people. Let's estimate the optimal height and width of the room.
So let's summarize what should be the room of a standard bath for 2-4 people:
Steam room: height: 2.5-2.7 m; width: 3.5x3.5 m
Washing room: height: 2.5 - 2.7 meters; width: 3.5x3.5 or 4.5-4.5 m
Recreation room: height: 2.5 - 2.7 meters; width: 4.5-4.5 m
The entire bath room should occupy at least 44 m2
Many puzzle themselves with the question of what should be the size of the steam room. From time immemorial, a real Russian bath has been spacious, as the whole large family was steaming. People believed that it was better to heat the stove well once and take a steam bath for everyone at once, than to stretch it out two or three times. But many modern baths have very small steam rooms - for 2-3 people. So what should be the optimal dimensions of the steam room and shelves? The fact is that there are certain standards of both sanitation and fire safety, in accordance with which all sizes must be calculated.
Even the smallest and most budgetary bath has two rooms: a dressing room and a steam room. But the main element of any bath is the steam room. Therefore, its dimensions must be calculated so that during your stay in the steam room you get the maximum healing effect and relax in comfort. When calculating, it is necessary to take into account the area of \u200b\u200bthe stove-heater, as a rule, it occupies at least one square meter.
For maximum space optimization, it is recommended to increase the canopy area and reduce the floor. The empty space under the shelves just needs to be closed so that the volume of the room decreases. This significantly reduces the warm-up time of the room and saves fuel.
Of course, everything is individual and the dimensions must be calculated based on many specified parameters, for example:
Depending on what will be done on the shelves, their length also differs:
If the steam room has three shelves, then the lowest of them should be narrow. Children are often placed on it or bath accessories are laid out. The distance between the top shelf and the ceiling should be at least a meter so that when getting up from it, you do not hit your head. Between the boards from which the shelves are made, there must be gaps of at least 0.3 cm so that air can circulate freely.
When drawing up a plan for a future bath during its construction, it is necessary to determine the optimal dimensions of the steam room, on which not only a comfortable stay depends, but also the safety of the people there.
The steam room is the main room in the bath, so its length and width, ceiling height, and shelf sizes must be selected correctly. The dimensions of the steam room depend on the type of bath being built: the budget option, as a rule, combines the washing room and the steam room, and in a more comfortable one these rooms are separated. Accordingly, their standard sizes of the steam room will vary.
The optimal size of the steam room depends on several factors:
The height of the steam room is the most important parameter that you need to decide. The quality of the steam depends on this parameter. The steam room should not be too low so that it has a sufficient volume of sustainable steam. In a steam room with a ceiling that is too high, steam will be wasted irrationally, so the recommended ceiling height is from 2.2 m to 2.4 m. above average, it will be uncomfortable to be in the steam room, in addition, there will not be enough fresh air, and the steam will quickly disappear. But, if you make the ceiling 2.5 m high, then the fuel consumption will increase, the time for kindling the heater will increase, because the volume of the steam room will increase by about 0.5 m3. At the same time, the entire volume of useful hot steam will accumulate not where the steamers are, but under the very ceiling. The height of the steam room door should be standard (65-70 cm by 170-180 cm), always with a high threshold to reduce the access of cold air from outside.
Determining the size of the steam room should be carried out at the planning stage, along with the size of the bath itself. At the same time, the dimensions of the steam room should not be too large, otherwise it will take a lot of fuel and time to warm up the air. To correctly calculate the optimal length and width of the steam room, you need to decide on its type:
It can be presented in two versions: for one person with a seat and with a full-fledged shelf. In the first case, the steam room may not have a window, it has a single-tiered small shelf, and a heater. This is ideal for saunas located directly in the house, for Finnish saunas. The optimal size in this case is 1150-1200 mm along the wall with a heater, and 840-850 mm along the wall with a shelf.
Steam room for one or two people
If a bath for one person provides for a recumbent shelf, the length of the walls can be 1800 mm, and the width - 1050-1100 mm. A single-tier couch should be equipped with a step to use it as a seat if necessary.
The size of the steam room for two or three people depends on how it will be arranged - square or rectangular. The length of the walls of a square steam room must be at least 1150 mm. This form allows you to place the entrance in the corner, the heater next to it, and in the remaining two adjacent walls you can place corner shelves with accommodation for two or three people. If the steam room is rectangular in shape, the size of the long wall can be 1450-1500 mm, the short one - 1300 mm. this is a common option, especially for small baths, when a pair of seated loungers is used, located in two tiers or in an angular way.
A steam room for 4 or more people provides for a long wall size of 1800-2000 mm, a short one - 1400-1500 mm with a rectangular shape. On the long side, there are usually two-tier or three-tier shelves on which you can sit and lie. For a large bath for four, the optimal size is 2500 mm by 2000 mm, without taking into account the dimensions of the heater and the area it occupies.
The correct size of the steam room
The size of the beds should be comfortable for a person, both in length and in width. Also important is the height of the shelves and the distance between them and the ceiling.
Dimensions of shelves in the steam room
The width of an ordinary sitting shelf should be 40 cm with a length according to the size of the room. In order to sit on a shelf with legs raised, its size must reach 90 cm in width. The length of the bed varies depending on whether you lie on it in full growth or with bent legs: in the first case, you can make it 150 cm long, in the second - at least 180 cm, given the possibility of equipping it with a headrest.
If the steam room is equipped with a three-tiered bed, the lower step should be the narrowest, and the upper one the widest. At the same time, the width of the bottom should be 40 cm, the width of the other two - within 60 and 90 cm. Three-tier, as well as two-tier shelves, can be located in the form of an angular structure, along one wall or opposite each other. The distance between the upper bench and the ceiling should be at least 1 m so that you can safely get up from it. The distance between adjacent shelves should be kept within 30-40 cm. Between the lamellas of the shelves, it is necessary to leave gaps of 3-4 mm for free air circulation, as well as quick drying after bath procedures.
If the washing room and the steam room in the bath are separate rooms, in relation to the locker room they should be in the ratio of 1.5x1x2 m.
In order for the floor in the bath to heat up faster and keep steam for a long time, it must be done 5 cm higher than the heater and 20 cm higher than the washing one.
For the convenience of taking bath procedures by older people, it is recommended to install a special shelf for them at least 50 cm wide and 180-200 cm long.
There should be 1 m2 of useful area per person washing in the steam room, from which 1 m2 of the heater area is deducted, including a small space around it.
If the steam room is equipped with a window, then its dimensions should not exceed 50 cm in length and width, so as not to release a large amount of hot air.
The optimal size of the steam room in the bath
The main rule when choosing a stove-heater is one: the sauna stove must have OPTIMUM power! The heater can have any design, any size, it can be electric, wood or gas, it can be cheap or expensive, unpretentious or exclusive, it can be absolutely any according to all criteria except one - it must be correctly installed and in terms of power it must exactly match your steam room.
The power of the heater must be optimal, no more, no less. The issue of the power of the heater can be neglected only in one case: if you have built a hammam, where there is no sauna stove in the usual sense.
If the power of the heater is not chosen correctly, which will inevitably lead to certain troubles.
Some take a sauna stove with a large margin of power so that the steam room heats up faster. Yes, the steam room in this case will really heat up faster, but this is only the initial stage, and then the stove will work at a minimum.
As a result, you will get hot air, but cold stones, on which it is useless to pour water - they will not give steam, and if there is steam, then it will be clubs of white steam, like above a kettle, and not the light transparent steam that you were counting on when building a bathhouse with your own hands or ordering its construction “under key".
lack of power
The other extreme is to buy a minimum power sauna stove in order to simply save money. Even if such an oven can heat the steam room to the desired temperature, working at the limit, the heater will quickly fail.
Now the next question is: what is the optimal power? All manufacturers indicate for each model not only the power in kilowatts, but also the recommended volume of the steam room. We will not delve into the intricacies of calculating the thermal power, but let's take as a basis another parameter - the cubic capacity of the steam room. This makes it easier and more understandable.
We determine the cubic capacity of the steam room
In principle, the cubic capacity of the steam room can also be determined from the bath project - all sizes are there.
If there is no project, then you will have to work with a tape measure.
It would seem that we have already received the same cubic capacity of the steam room, according to which we will choose a stove for a bath. But it's not. There are a number of other nuances that must be taken into account.
We make the necessary adjustments
The actual cubic capacity of the steam room is not yet the data that should be relied upon when choosing the power of a bath stove. This is only a theory, but there are also individual features of the steam room of a particular bath, and these features also affect the choice of the required power of the bath stove.
Now we know the volume for which the sauna stove we need should be designed.
When choosing a specific model the resulting volume must be in the middle of the limit values. For example, we got 20 cubic meters, which means that we need a sauna stove not with a cubic capacity of 12-20, but one that has 15-25 cubic meters indicated.
And don't forget the rocks!
In order for the heater to give the heat output for which it is designed, it is necessary to load the stones into it exactly as much as the manufacturer recommended.
This parameter is also indicated for each model.
When building a bath, many owners adhere to the strict observance of all requirements for the configuration and size of the future building.
The optimal size of the bath ultimately determines the quality of wellness procedures.
What should be the optimal dimensions of the steam room and shelves? What ceiling height is important to observe when designing a bath?
A classic Russian banya consists of a steam room, a washing room, a dressing room and other utility rooms. An electric or wood-burning heater is used as the main heating.
The minimum dimensions of the bath, designed for 2-3 people, are 1.9 × 2.1 meters. It is completed with one large bench for taking procedures in a sitting or lying position.
The average bath has the following parameters - 2.6 × 2.5 meters. For ergonomic use of free space, benches are placed in L or U-shape around the entire perimeter.
At the same time, it is important to observe the optimal ceiling height, the lower it is, the lower the fuel consumption for space heating.
As a rule, a bench for rest is placed at the level of the upper part of the firebox - 100 cm, therefore, for maximum convenience of vacationers, the optimal ceiling height should be at least 2.4 meters. The height of the bath is determined by the technological features of the project and the overall dimensions of the future structure.
The central room of the bath is the steam room. Its dimensions are determined by the capacity and features of the wellness procedures - lying or sitting. When calculating the area of the steam room, it is worth considering the dimensions of the heater, often it takes up to 1 sq.m. area.
The minimum dimensions of the room are calculated based on the usable area intended for 1 visitor - 1.5 sq.m. Thus, for a company of 3 people, the steam room must have at least 5 sq.m. area. The optimal size of the steam room is determined taking into account the height of the tallest visitor - for example, 190 cm.
The main functional element of the steam room is a bench, the dimensions of which depend on the area of \u200b\u200bthe room and the personal preferences of vacationers. For sitting procedures, the width of the bench is at least 45 cm, while lying down - up to 95 cm.
The optimal size of a steam room for a company of 3–4 people is 5–6 sq.m. An increase in the usable area is allowed, but in no case should it be reduced.
Experts recommend installing electric heaters in small-sized steam rooms, and wood-burning metal stoves in large rooms. This will ensure the maximum intensity of thermal radiation at the minimum cost of electricity and fossil fuel.
The optimal dimensions of the benches installed in the steam rooms are determined by the functional features of their use:
If the steam room has up to three benches, then the lowest of them should have a minimum width. It is intended for children or laying out accessories and accessories for procedures.
The optimal distance between the upper bench and the ceiling does not exceed 1 meter.
Between the individual wooden elements from which the benches are made, there should be small gaps of 0.35 cm for mandatory air convection.
Washing room - a room intended for carrying out ablution procedures. Here are open tanks with hot and cold water, benches for sitting, showers and a font for cooling.
Washing room dimensions are determined as follows - 1 sq.m. per visitor.
For a company of 4 people, a room with an area of \u200b\u200b2 × 2.5 meters is suitable. For two people, washing 1.7 × 1.4 meters is enough.
The dressing room is a special locker room, which is located directly in front of the steam room or washing room. Some projects provide for the combination of a dressing room with a rest room.
In the dressing room, visitors undress and prepare for the main procedures, as well as rest after washing.
Most dressing rooms have benches, chairs, mirrors and clothes hangers. Some are equipped with compact pools for thermal procedures. For lovers of massage, a special trestle bed can be installed. There is also all kinds of utensils for wellness procedures - buckets, ladles, fuel for heaters.
In the middle bath, the dressing room has the following dimensions - 20 sq.m., in small buildings - up to 6 sq.m.
For a company of 4 people, a rest room of 8 sq.m. is enough. It may well fit a compact table, chairs and even a sofa bed. Additionally, you can equip a place for a tea ceremony. For companies for 6-10 people, it is better to provide a room up to 15 sq.m.
The dimensions of the doors are not an unimportant parameter when arranging such a structure. The recommended dimensions of doors with one leaf are as follows: width - 75 cm, height - 175 cm.
In small and compact steam rooms, a window is not provided to prevent possible heat loss.
Such an arrangement helps to properly accumulate steam under the ceiling and prevent it from mixing with the cooled air above the floor level.
When designing a bath, special attention should be paid to the correct lighting of the steam room. Fixtures should not be excessively bright, so as not to tire the eyes. It is recommended to choose devices designed for operation in rooms with high humidity and temperature changes.
Thus, the most suitable dimensions of the steam room and washing room can be selected, taking into account the maximum number of visitors, their gender and age, as well as the performance of the heating equipment.
The optimal dimensions of the bath: the width and height of the ideal steam room
Calculation of the power of the furnace for a bath, depending on the volume of the steam room
The sauna stove must be chosen with the optimal power based on the volume of your steam room.
It is impossible to make a mistake in choosing the power of the sauna stove, because then there will be no good steam: neither in the case when the power is not enough, nor in the case when the power of the stove is more than required.
If you put a small stove in the bath with insufficient power for the given volume of the steam room, then it will have to be operated beyond its capabilities, which will lead to rapid wear and tear of the stove.
If you buy a stove with a margin for reasons that the power reserve is never superfluous, then yes, indeed, the bath will heat up quickly and hot! But in order to bathe in comfortable conditions, you will have to artificially reduce its capabilities while soaring and ventilate the steam room after each entry. As a result, balanced steam cannot be obtained due to the fact that the stones in the heater will not be so hot. And if you maintain the desired temperature of the stones (at least 500 degrees C), then it will be too hot on the shelf and even in the lower zone, near the floor.
The calculation of the power of the furnace for the bath must be done in the following sequence:
The data for calculating the power of the furnace for each particular bath may differ in its characteristics due to the use of various materials and structures of the building itself, or some additional factors, for example, the presence of forced ventilation, etc.
Since steam is formed in a Russian bath as a result of splashing water on hot stones, it is necessary, when choosing a sauna stove, to look not only at its rated power, but also at the volume (weight) of stones that can be placed in this stove.
Different sources recommend a different number of stones per 1 m3 of a steam room when 15 people soar at the same time for 5 hours. Let's take a minimum: 30kg. Therefore, for our example, you will need 30 kg * 24.85 m3 = 745.5 kg. . Something is too much for a 25 kW furnace and weights of no more than 200 kg (cast iron) .... And what size should a metal furnace be so that so many stones fit into it?
In another "ancient" book, it is recommended for every 6 liters of water to be supplied - 8 kg of cobblestone and 1.5 kg per 1 m3 of steam room volume. In an hour, 5 people pour no more than 4 liters of hot water on the stones, so for 5 hours of continuous soaring they will spend even 20 liters (which is unlikely). Still, let's reduce the amount of water by 30%, taking into account pauses for ventilation and rest. It turns out that only 18.7 kg is needed. We will also calculate the number of stones for the bath, taking into account the volume of the steam room: 1.5 kg * 24.85 m3 = 37.5 kg. We summarize everything and get: 37.5 kg + 18.7 kg \u003d 53.2 kg of cobblestone. This is already an acceptable figure for an ordinary simple bath.
You can make a more complex calculation of stones for a bath, determining the required amount of heat by evaporation and heating ...
But. the purpose of this article is to determine the required power of the stove for the bath. Therefore, let's estimate how many kW are needed to heat 53.2 kg of stones for 15 minutes (approximate time allotted for a pause between soaring) to a temperature of 500 degrees:
Conclusion: the furnace power of 20 kW will provide heating up to 500 degrees 53.2 kg of stones every 15 minutes. Let's add another 5 kW to the calculation of the power of the bath furnace to take into account heat losses through structures and cold surfaces.
So, for a steam room with dimensions of 3x2x2.2m, a 25 kW oven is needed, based on two different calculations:
With a lower consumption of supplied water, for example, when steaming not five people, but two, for not five hours, but only a couple of three, you can choose a furnace with a lower power (20 kW).
What should be the comfortable dimensions of the steam room?
Optimum steam room size
The dimensions of the steam room will depend primarily on your personal preferences, and then on the size and design of the shelves. In addition, the size of the bath will be affected by the power of the stove, since sitting too close to it is not very pleasant. The size of the oven is also important. However, with a shortage of space, you can use a mineralite screen, which will allow you to be even at a distance of 15-20 cm from the stove and not feel discomfort. And all due to the fact that this material does not heat up to more than 100-150 ° C.
But before buying a stove, you should pay attention to the functions that the steam room will perform. If we talk about approximate dimensions, then the ceiling height of the room should be about 2.2-2.4 m. But the width must be calculated depending on the expected number of seats in the steam room. It is better to make it in the form of a rectangle, not a square.
Simple rural or country baths consist of a steam bath and a dressing room. The stove is usually installed in the steam room, while the dressing room is heated by heat that passes through the adjacent wall with the doors open to the steam room. Often in the dressing room they put another stove for heating, usually a metal one - a “potbelly stove”.
To be able to take a steam bath lying down, shelves are installed in the steam room. The device of the shelf should be such that, if desired, it would be possible to sit on it. Thus, the height of the ceiling must ensure the comfort of placing people on the shelf.
More comfortable baths are built in such a way that several people can use them at the same time. Baths for the whole family usually consist of a steam room, dressing room, that is, a dressing room, and an entrance hall. The dimensions of the steam room should be such that there are shelves, retractable benches, a water tank, and an oven in the room. It is necessary that the width of the shelves be at least a meter. The distance from the shelf to the oven is also at least a meter. From the stove to the wall - about 50 cm. There should be free space in the room so that the person is comfortable here. In addition, it is necessary to allocate space for basins and buckets. Several shelves should be placed on the wall to put shampoos on them, put washcloths and other accessories.
Advice from the master!
It is not difficult to carry out the optimal calculation. In order to better imagine what dimensions the steam room should have, you can make a drawing on a piece of paper using a scale. Place the necessary items on the drawing of the steam room and see how comfortable the room is.
If we turn to history, we can see that the optimal size of the bath in Ancient Russia was quite large. After all, then it was customary to take a steam bath for 4 or more people. Old Russian families were very numerous, so the baths were built in such a way that everyone was comfortable. Sometimes it was necessary to repeatedly melt the furnace. Of course, the size of modern apartments impose significant restrictions on the installation of large baths. If the company is selected from more than 4 people, you can use the steam room at the health complex, where there is a lot of space. For arranging a personal bath, it is better to limit yourself to small dimensions.
The steam room must be maintained at a high temperature. Therefore, the distance of the shelf from the furnace must be calculated. In a Russian bath, a minimum warm-up is most often sufficient, such that the temperature is comfortable for the body. Staying in a sauna for a person is associated, as a rule, with stronger heating.
If you take the smallest size of the steam room, then you need to be aware of the possible dangers. In a small room, the visitor may overheat. The human body heats up not only from the heat of a red-hot furnace, but also from hot air. Therefore, if the size of the bath is too small, a person can even get burned. Excessively large sizes are fraught with overheating of the furnace, as a result of which the air will be too hot. And this is not good for human health. The dimensions of the bath must be calculated so that everything is balanced. 4 visitors or 6 are steaming - there should be neither excessive overheating nor unnecessary heat dissipation.
As for the height of the ceiling, if you raise it at least ten centimeters, the total volume of the premises immediately increases significantly. And this is associated with the cost of an additional portion of fuel. In addition, it will take longer to heat up. Therefore, based on 4 soaring, the most convenient ceiling height is given.
Advice from the master!
The steam room usually provides for the presence of three canopies. The width of the top shelf is the largest. In height, each canopy should be 30-35 centimeters. Then the dimensions of the shelf for each of the 4 soaring ones will be ideal.
Of course, each owner calculates the optimal dimensions of the bath individually. But keep in mind that one soaring should account for at least one square meter. If the area is 4 square meters, then it is easy to figure out how many people can use such a steam room. Russian banya is a great way to improve health. With regular visits to it, a person becomes more hardened, less sick.
